This invention provides carpet and textile coating compositions comprising natural or synthetic fibers as a filler. These compositions are useful in the construction of carpets or textiles having improved physical strength characteristics. The fiber is used in place of all or part of the inorganic fillers that are typically added to carpet and textile coating compositions. The fiber reinforced coating compositions strengthen the carpet or textile, particularly when the coating compositions are used at relatively low application weights.
The use of fibers in elastomeric polymer foam backing sheets that are preformed on a release substrate and then released and bonded to a textile material substrate is disclosed in Republic of South African Patent No. 7504901, issued May 24, 1976 to Deogon, et al.
The use of fibers to reinforce carpet and textile back coating compositions has never been reported.
As used herein, the term "textile" refers to woven pile fabric of the type commonly used in furniture and automobile upholstery and in draperies. Textile also includes other pile-type woven and non-woven fabrics, such as corduroy, used in clothing and other finished goods. The woven pile fabrics have an extra set of warp or filling yarns interlaced with the basic woven fabric such that loops or cut ends are produced on the surface of the fabric. The pile woven fabrics must be backcoated with an adhesive or a binder coating so that the pile will remain in the fabric during subsequent processing of the fabric, and during laundering, wearing and use of the fabrics. However, as used herein, "textile" does not include fabrics constructed with a separate, preformed, foam backing that is bonded to the back of the woven pile.
As used herein, "coating composition" refers to adhesives, binders, lattices, and the like, as well as their aerated or foamed equivalents. Coating compositions suitable for a variety of carpet and textile applications are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,654,247, issued Mar. 31, 1987, to Randall III, et al.; 4,737,386, issued Apr. 12, 1988, to Wotier, et al.; 4,756,714, issued Jul. 12, 1988, to Hendrix, et al,; 4,866,119, issued Sept. 12, 1989, to Mudge; 5,013,787, issued May 7, 1991, to Barron, et al.; and 5,026,765, issued Jun. 25, 1991, to Katz, et al., which are hereby incorporated by reference.